VGC has signed the Time to Change employer pledge.
To demonstrate our support for our people’s mental wellbeing, managing director Laurence Mckidd signed the pledge on 27 March, witnessed by the board of directors.
We have committed to help break the silence and end the stigma around mental health issues. We want everyone to think and act positively about mental health at every level of the organisation.
Our pledge:
At VGC we recognise that risks to our workforce extend beyond those which are included in workplace risk assessments. We know that issues at work and home can become more serious mental health conditions if not addressed swiftly. Therefore we promote awareness of mental wellbeing in professional and personal life.
Our senior management and our wellbeing champion commit to support our staff, and do all we can to remove the stigma around mental health issues.
We will work with our charity partner State of Mind Sport to encourage wellness in our workplaces. We will continue to promote the importance of maintaining good physical and mental health through targeted campaigns. We will review our performance through ongoing monitoring and engagement with our workforce.
Before signing, we committed to an action plan.
This includes:
- supporting our wellbeing champion, Fiona Dowling, to manage our wellbeing action plan
- creating and sharing monthly occupational health briefings
- expand our behavioural safety training
- continuing to train more workforce mental health first aiders
- supporting charity State of Mind Sport by fundraising
- arranging for State of Mind Sport to deliver talks on mental health to our supply chain and operatives on site
- delivering wellbeing and fairness, inclusion and respect sessions on site
- continuing to raise awareness of mental health issues on site with support information, and training managers to spot signs of mental ill health
- continuing to promote diversity and support for people with any of the nine protected characteristics
About Time to Change
Time to Change is England’s biggest programme to challenge mental health stigma and discrimination. It is run by the charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness. Other organisations which have signed the Time to Change employer pledge include Amey, Atkins, Bam, Costain, Siemens, Mace, Vinci, Skanska, Heathrow, HS2 Ltd, and Sellafield.
One in four people will be experiencing a mental health problem at any one time. Nine in ten people who have experienced a mental health problem have faced negative treatment as a result.
VGC is a disability confident employer, and that includes supporting people with disabilities that are not immediately visible, such as mental health. For more information, or if you work for VGC and would like some support, please contact wellbeing champion Fiona Dowling on 01895 671800.
